1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safety binding for a ski adapted to releasably maintain an end, preferably the front end, of a boot mounted on the ski.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
Safety bindings for skis known as "front abutments" are known to include a body mounted on a base affixed to the ski. The body of the binding carries, at its rear portion, a retention jaw for the boot which includes two opposed lateral retention wings and an energization mechanism positioned within the body to elastically return the jaw to the engagement position with the boot. The energization mechanism includes a compressed energy spring which is supported at one end on a support surface connected to the body and, at its other end, on a force transmission element which is longitudinally movable in the body and coupled to the jaw in a manner so as to elastically bias the jaw against the front of the boot to ensure the retention of the boot on the ski.
Front abutments of the type described above are disclosed, for example, in French Patents 2,179,183, 2,523,857 and German Patentschrift 2,366,249.
The front abutment described in French Patent 2,179,183 includes a retention jaw which is constituted by two independent wings, journalled around respective axes and cooperating through their front or inner ends with the end portion of a rod slidably longitudinally mounted and biased by a spring forming a portion of the energization mechanism.
It is likewise known, as described in French Pat. No. 2,523,857, to provide a front abutment including a support pedal for the sole of the boot which senses a frontward fall, reacting to a downward bias. In such a front abutment, the jaw is journalled around a horizontal and transverse axis and it pivots upwardly as a result of an upward vertical bias, i e , in the case of a rearward fall of the skier.
The front abutment which is described in German Patentsscrift No. 2,366,249 is likewise of the type having independent lateral retention wings journalled around respective axes, and it includes a sole grip which is vertically movable and whose vertical upward movement in the case of a rearward fall of the skier causes a compression of the spring of the energization mechanism, i.e., a softening of the stiffness of the binding. That is, the force required for the lateral release of the front abutment is reduced.